Love at First Hate

Chapter 2: We Got History Together

Taby woke up from her afternoon nap, and she noticed she had received a message from her father. After reading the message, she called her father, wanting to get more details as to why he was suddenly asking her to go home next week.

“Hi, dad! I’m sorry I wasn’t able to reply right away. May I know why the sudden request for me to go home next week?” Taby asked her dad.

“Hello, princess, I just wanted to see you because we miss you already. Can’t a father ask his daughter to go home?”

“Of course dad, I’ll visit home, but why do I have a feeling that there’s more to that request?” Taby tried to fish the answer out from her father.

“You are such a smart girl, okay you got me, I just wanted you to meet my close friends, and I’ve heard that they have an only son.” her dad said, smiling.

“I knew it, but dad, I’m still young. Why are you trying to match me with your friend's son?” Taby asked.

“Well, it's not like you’re getting married right away, just try to get to know him. I’ve heard that he’s not dating anybody, so maybe he is picky, but I’m sure once he meets you, he doesn’t have to look anywhere else.” her dad said proudly.

Taby smiled. When her mother passed away after giving birth to her, her father and three brothers made sure that she was happy and that she had everything that she needed. In short, she was spoiled rotten by her family, but Taby doesn’t care about the material stuff, as long as her family is with her. That is her true treasure.

“No problem dad, I’ll be there next week. I Love you dad, bye.” Taby ended the call.

The girls are getting ready for their programming class. Sasha and Cleo went ahead to save seats because, for some reason, the class is always jam-packed with students. Taby was walking in the hallway when she noticed that Xian was also going in the same direction.

Xian saw Tabitha but he needed to do the presentation so he went ahead.

"Oh no, calm down, no need to panic, he's just a guy" Taby tried to convince herself, the moment she saw him she felt like the hallway became so tiny. She is not claustrophobic, why does he have that much effect on her?

"Taby, over here" called Sasha from the third row.

I quickly went to where they were seated but I didn't see Xian seated anywhere. But after I sat on the chair, I saw him in front of the room together with the programming professor.

"This is nice. I'll get the chance to see his face more." Taby said to herself.

Today he is not wearing his usual leather jacket, he swapped it with a semi-formal outfit that made him look more handsome.

"Taby would you like some help turning on your laptop?" Cleo asked, smiling.

"Huh.. I'm good." I glared at Cleo, but she just gave me a thumbs up.

Taby was so focused on the lecture, but on top of that she couldn't help but look at Xian's face.

"Why does he have to be so handsome?" Taby said to herself.

Xian was almost done explaining how the programming code works and he could see in his peripheral vision that Tabitha was looking at him intently, although maybe it's just because she was listening to the lecture. The professor gave an assignment that they needed to group themselves up and try to create a simple code and they need to present it in class. Xian was already exempted because he can ace the programming class and he's already competing with other schools.

"Girls, you go ahead, I just need to check something in the library." Taby said to Cleo and Sasha.

Sasha and Cleo leave smiling mischievously because they saw Xian was also about to go into the library.

Taby checked the list of programming books for reference and sat down on one of the chairs. She was busy trying the code on her laptop, and she didn't notice the person who asked if the seat beside her was taken, she just gestured that no one was sitting on the other chair.

Taby tried to run the code but it's not working, she checked the sample code again on the book to make sure that it's correct.

"Hmm.. what did I encode wrong." Taby talked out loud.

" May I?." the guy sitting next to Taby spoke.

Taby was about to say no, but when she saw who was sitting next to her, It was Xian himself.

Xian gestures for her laptop, Taby moves her laptop so that he can look into it.

Xian quickly typed some codes on her laptop then ran the program, it worked this time.

"Here you go, It's running now." Xian gave her laptop back.

"Thank you. " Taby said shyly.

Taby wanted to say something else but her mind went blank. Of all the days that she needed to be talkative, today is not that day. She sadly watched as Xian stood up from the chair and left the library.

Xian was still contemplating if he would go back to the library or not, for some odd reason he found sitting next to Tabitha calming. She has this aura that will pull you close to her. Which is something that he is not used to.

"Xi, where did you go?, we're looking for you man." Shane asked.

"I just checked something at the library." Xian answered.

"Hmm.. something or someone?," Clay cooed. He saw Tabitha coming out from the library.

Xian did not react.

The day that Xian is dreading has finally arrived, He went home to his parents' and right now they are waiting for his parents' friends and daughter to arrive.

A black SUV stopped in front of their house. An old man came out and a very familiar girl stepped out next.

"This will be an interesting night" Xian told himself.

Taby stepped out of the vehicle and her eyes immediately came in contact with Xian, she was shocked. She follows her dad into the main door and she can see how happy her father is to visit his friends.

"Oh. Carlton, Beatrice, It's so good to see you." her dad greeted his friends.

"same here, old friend, we should do this more often." Beatrice said.

Her dad gestures for her. "This is my only daughter Tabitha".

"nice to finally meet you, Mr and Mrs. CarlMichael" Taby greeted them respectfully.

"Oh. you can call me Aunt Beatrice, no need for formalities." said Aunt Beatrice smiling.

"This is our only son Xian". She gestures to Xian.

"I knew her mom, we got history together." Xian answered with a smile.

Xian's mother looked at him then at Taby.

Taby blushed.

"I mean we attend the same university and class." Xian said calmly.

"That is wonderful, since you knew each other already, why don't we leave you kids alone then we oldies will catch up, and Xian you better behave, okay?" Aunt Beatrice said.

"So, Tabitha did you know that you will be meeting me today?" Xian asked.

"of course not, and you can call me Taby."

"I prefer to call you Tabitha." Xian said

Taby notices that Xian was looking at her intently and it's making her feel conscious. So she decided to look into the fountain.

Xian was surprised of how he feels, this is the first time that he wanted to get to know someone, but it seems like he's making her feel uncomfortable.

" how's the progress of your coding project?." Xian asked to make her feel a little bit at ease.

"It's doing good, and thank you again for helping me out the last time."

"that's good to hear, just feel free to ask if you have any questions." Xian said then he smiled.

"oh my heart keep still" Taby said to herself.

"would you like to get a quick tour of the place?" Xian asked.

"sure, I'd love to." Taby said then shyly smiled.

Taby was starting to feel at ease with Xian, He's a perfect gentleman and he's always the one to start the conversation. Something that she did not expect considering how aloof he was at school.

Evening came and it was time to leave, She waited in the car, while her dad still saying his goodbye, although she heard that they are already planning their next get together.

"See you at school Tabitha." Xian said.

He is still calling her by her full name, even though she reminded him that he can call her Taby, He said that he wanted to be the only one to call her by her full name, that made her smile and blushed. Taby can't wait to get back to school.